Alan Law
@dralanlaw.bsky.social
Lecturer in freshwater ecosystems & director of Outdoor Education
@StirUni. Trying not to think about mountains.
@StirUni. Trying not to think about mountains.
Reposted by Alan Law
🌊 As the need to restore Europe’s freshwaters becomes ever more pressing, so too does the demand for funding to support ambitious restoration projects.
🤝 A new @merlin-project.bsky.social publication guides you through the grant funding landscape.
freshwaterblog.net/2025/10/22/h...
🤝 A new @merlin-project.bsky.social publication guides you through the grant funding landscape.
freshwaterblog.net/2025/10/22/h...
How to find grant funding for your freshwater restoration project
Image: Cottonbro Studio | Pexels Creative Commons As the need to restore Europe’s freshwaters becomes ever more pressing, so too does the demand for funding to support ambitious restoration project…
freshwaterblog.net
October 22, 2025 at 2:35 PM
🌊 As the need to restore Europe’s freshwaters becomes ever more pressing, so too does the demand for funding to support ambitious restoration projects.
🤝 A new @merlin-project.bsky.social publication guides you through the grant funding landscape.
freshwaterblog.net/2025/10/22/h...
🤝 A new @merlin-project.bsky.social publication guides you through the grant funding landscape.
freshwaterblog.net/2025/10/22/h...
Reposted by Alan Law
It's out! 🧪 "Lines in the landscape," on the under-appreciated importance of #ditches as diverse ecosystems: doi.org/10.1038/s432.... By @peatymike.bsky.social, @fluitans.bsky.social, @drtatariw.bsky.social, @timaukel.bsky.social, @jordannabergman.bsky.social, @juliecrabot.bsky.social, ...
Lines in the landscape - Communications Earth & Environment
Ditches have many overlooked environmental and societal roles, including impact on biodiversity and pollution, and management strategies to enhance their multifunctional landscape-scale benefits are n...
doi.org
August 23, 2025 at 3:00 AM
It's out! 🧪 "Lines in the landscape," on the under-appreciated importance of #ditches as diverse ecosystems: doi.org/10.1038/s432.... By @peatymike.bsky.social, @fluitans.bsky.social, @drtatariw.bsky.social, @timaukel.bsky.social, @jordannabergman.bsky.social, @juliecrabot.bsky.social, ...
Reposted by Alan Law
🌱 🐟🦫 No.1 Freshwater Detective Agency from the University of Stirling take on Finland’s beaver ponds 🇫🇮🏴
Day1: 16/72 audiomoths installed so far… and as many bug bites…
🪵 #beaverlogbook
@dralanlaw.bsky.social
@nigelwillby.bsky.social
+ myself, Alex Adams, and Alice Turner
Day1: 16/72 audiomoths installed so far… and as many bug bites…
🪵 #beaverlogbook
@dralanlaw.bsky.social
@nigelwillby.bsky.social
+ myself, Alex Adams, and Alice Turner
July 25, 2025 at 3:14 PM
🌱 🐟🦫 No.1 Freshwater Detective Agency from the University of Stirling take on Finland’s beaver ponds 🇫🇮🏴
Day1: 16/72 audiomoths installed so far… and as many bug bites…
🪵 #beaverlogbook
@dralanlaw.bsky.social
@nigelwillby.bsky.social
+ myself, Alex Adams, and Alice Turner
Day1: 16/72 audiomoths installed so far… and as many bug bites…
🪵 #beaverlogbook
@dralanlaw.bsky.social
@nigelwillby.bsky.social
+ myself, Alex Adams, and Alice Turner
Reposted by Alan Law
This new map provides a global view of the distribution of a multitude of aquatic ecosystems, including various wetlands. It's a pretty big step forward, and I look forward to seeing how it will be used e.g. to study wetland greenhouse gases.
essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/...
essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/...
Mapping the world's inland surface waters: an upgrade to the Global Lakes and Wetlands Database (GLWD v2)
Abstract. In recognition of the importance of inland waters, numerous datasets mapping their extents, types, or changes have been created using sources ranging from historical wetland maps to real-tim...
essd.copernicus.org
June 4, 2025 at 1:57 PM
This new map provides a global view of the distribution of a multitude of aquatic ecosystems, including various wetlands. It's a pretty big step forward, and I look forward to seeing how it will be used e.g. to study wetland greenhouse gases.
essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/...
essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/...
Reposted by Alan Law
New paper out with collaborators from Tianjin University:
"Village ponds are hotspots of CO2 and CH4 emissions regulated by biological communities"
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"Village ponds are hotspots of CO2 and CH4 emissions regulated by biological communities"
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Village ponds are hotspots of CO2 and CH4 emissions regulated by biological communities
Ponds in rural villages (village ponds) potentially emit substantial greenhouse gases (GHG), since they are pervasive and often highly eutrophic. Howe…
www.sciencedirect.com
May 30, 2025 at 5:53 PM
New paper out with collaborators from Tianjin University:
"Village ponds are hotspots of CO2 and CH4 emissions regulated by biological communities"
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"Village ponds are hotspots of CO2 and CH4 emissions regulated by biological communities"
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Alan Law
How do we decide on conservation actions in the face of context dependency?
In our new paper on ‘Precision Ecology’
we show how methods developed in medicine & marketing
can be applied to predict site-specific outcomes
allowing effective & targeted conservation
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
In our new paper on ‘Precision Ecology’
we show how methods developed in medicine & marketing
can be applied to predict site-specific outcomes
allowing effective & targeted conservation
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Precision ecology for targeted conservation action - Nature Ecology & Evolution
The fields of medicine and marketing use large data volumes and computational power to target individuals. This Perspective argues that applied ecologists should draw on such approaches to provide dec...
doi.org
May 28, 2025 at 11:21 AM
How do we decide on conservation actions in the face of context dependency?
In our new paper on ‘Precision Ecology’
we show how methods developed in medicine & marketing
can be applied to predict site-specific outcomes
allowing effective & targeted conservation
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
In our new paper on ‘Precision Ecology’
we show how methods developed in medicine & marketing
can be applied to predict site-specific outcomes
allowing effective & targeted conservation
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
I remember when authors used to thank the reviewers in the acknowledgements section... maybe that's a thing of the past? Or maybe I've become reviewer number 2?!
May 26, 2025 at 3:54 PM
I remember when authors used to thank the reviewers in the acknowledgements section... maybe that's a thing of the past? Or maybe I've become reviewer number 2?!
Reposted by Alan Law
Today, we are also celebrating the winners of the 2024 Annual Meeting Prizes: Emily Holden and Alice Turner (from left to right).
https://f.mtr.cool/tpabuuvzgi
https://f.mtr.cool/tpabuuvzgi
April 17, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Today, we are also celebrating the winners of the 2024 Annual Meeting Prizes: Emily Holden and Alice Turner (from left to right).
https://f.mtr.cool/tpabuuvzgi
https://f.mtr.cool/tpabuuvzgi
Reposted by Alan Law
While there have been papers looking at Beaver effects on immature aquatic insects, the latest @freshwaterscience.bsky.social #FreshwaterScience issue shows how Beaver dams can increase biomass in emergent adult insects - along with community changes www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Beaver recolonization explains aquatic insect emergence patterns | Freshwater Science: Vol 44, No 1
Abstract Emerging aquatic insects are an important aquatic-to-terrestrial subsidy that can make up a large portion of the diet of riparian predators. The biomass and abundance of aquatic insects can b...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
April 7, 2025 at 11:52 AM
While there have been papers looking at Beaver effects on immature aquatic insects, the latest @freshwaterscience.bsky.social #FreshwaterScience issue shows how Beaver dams can increase biomass in emergent adult insects - along with community changes www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
I was walking along my local river last night and was so pleased to see that beavers have returned. I managed to get a picture.
April 1, 2025 at 8:11 AM
I was walking along my local river last night and was so pleased to see that beavers have returned. I managed to get a picture.
Beaver Versus Human: The Big Differences in Small Dams
wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Beaver Versus Human: The Big Differences in Small Dams
Illustration of the net benefits and costs of different types of dams considered in this paper. The types of dams are ordered by relative benefit from left to right, with the most beneficial on the l...
wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
March 31, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Beaver Versus Human: The Big Differences in Small Dams
wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Alan Law
Super excited to share our new paper out today in Nature Water led by Christina McCabe. @naturewaterjnl.bsky.social
“The ecological benefits of more room for rivers”
Find the paper here: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Free to read version: rdcu.be/eeuBx
#rivers #floods #biodiversity #resilience
“The ecological benefits of more room for rivers”
Find the paper here: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Free to read version: rdcu.be/eeuBx
#rivers #floods #biodiversity #resilience
The ecological benefits of more room for rivers - Nature Water
This Review synthesizes the ecological features and processes that arise when rivers are given room to move. Understanding these interactions will support more sustainable decisions that weigh river e...
www.nature.com
March 22, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Super excited to share our new paper out today in Nature Water led by Christina McCabe. @naturewaterjnl.bsky.social
“The ecological benefits of more room for rivers”
Find the paper here: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Free to read version: rdcu.be/eeuBx
#rivers #floods #biodiversity #resilience
“The ecological benefits of more room for rivers”
Find the paper here: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Free to read version: rdcu.be/eeuBx
#rivers #floods #biodiversity #resilience
Reposted by Alan Law
A beaver themed prize giving! 🦫 - Eileen Stuart then presented the prizes for best talk to James Macarthur at UHI Inverness and the best poster to Alice Turner from the University of Stirling.
#SNSC2025
PS - I promise it wasn’t rigged towards the organisers!
#SNSC2025
PS - I promise it wasn’t rigged towards the organisers!
March 19, 2025 at 4:48 PM
A beaver themed prize giving! 🦫 - Eileen Stuart then presented the prizes for best talk to James Macarthur at UHI Inverness and the best poster to Alice Turner from the University of Stirling.
#SNSC2025
PS - I promise it wasn’t rigged towards the organisers!
#SNSC2025
PS - I promise it wasn’t rigged towards the organisers!
Reposted by Alan Law
A dam good talk from Emily Simpson @emofthewoods.bsky.social on the role of beaver ponds in sediment trapping and recognising beaver ponds for carbon accreditation 🦫 #SNSC2025
March 19, 2025 at 10:11 AM
A dam good talk from Emily Simpson @emofthewoods.bsky.social on the role of beaver ponds in sediment trapping and recognising beaver ponds for carbon accreditation 🦫 #SNSC2025
Coypus taking the credit beavers are due… @britishecologicalsociety.org
March 15, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Coypus taking the credit beavers are due… @britishecologicalsociety.org
Reposted by Alan Law
Active #wetland restoration kickstarts vegetation establishment, but natural development promotes greater plant diversity
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
🌍 🧪 🦤
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
🌍 🧪 🦤
Active wetland restoration kickstarts vegetation establishment, but natural development promotes greater plant diversity
Active steering of wetland restoration by introducing target species and preventing herbivory accelerated vegetation development, while natural development took longer. However, natural development r...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
March 5, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Active #wetland restoration kickstarts vegetation establishment, but natural development promotes greater plant diversity
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
🌍 🧪 🦤
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
🌍 🧪 🦤
Duckling body mass increases with abundant aquatic invertebrates: experimental approach
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Duckling body mass increases with abundant aquatic invertebrates: experimental approach
In Fennoscandia, waterbirds have declined over several decade, and this decline could be linked to problems in the breeding success and loss of foragi…
www.sciencedirect.com
February 21, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Duckling body mass increases with abundant aquatic invertebrates: experimental approach
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Alan Law
✨ We have EIGHT amazing summer internships with our National Capability for Global Challenges scheme!
Work with UKCEH scientists on topics like ozone pollution, modelling, satellite imagery, soil health & more.
🔗 Apply by 2 April: www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/...
🧪🧵 1/
Please share widely!
Work with UKCEH scientists on topics like ozone pollution, modelling, satellite imagery, soil health & more.
🔗 Apply by 2 April: www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/...
🧪🧵 1/
Please share widely!
February 20, 2025 at 5:02 PM
✨ We have EIGHT amazing summer internships with our National Capability for Global Challenges scheme!
Work with UKCEH scientists on topics like ozone pollution, modelling, satellite imagery, soil health & more.
🔗 Apply by 2 April: www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/...
🧪🧵 1/
Please share widely!
Work with UKCEH scientists on topics like ozone pollution, modelling, satellite imagery, soil health & more.
🔗 Apply by 2 April: www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/...
🧪🧵 1/
Please share widely!
Reposted by Alan Law
Job: Come work with me! Please repost!
We're seeking a faculty colleague whose research, teaching, and outreach focuses on water quality and freshwater ecosystems in the context of climate change. Review of applications will begin April 15, 2025.
careers.msu.edu/jobs/assista...
We're seeking a faculty colleague whose research, teaching, and outreach focuses on water quality and freshwater ecosystems in the context of climate change. Review of applications will begin April 15, 2025.
careers.msu.edu/jobs/assista...
February 20, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Job: Come work with me! Please repost!
We're seeking a faculty colleague whose research, teaching, and outreach focuses on water quality and freshwater ecosystems in the context of climate change. Review of applications will begin April 15, 2025.
careers.msu.edu/jobs/assista...
We're seeking a faculty colleague whose research, teaching, and outreach focuses on water quality and freshwater ecosystems in the context of climate change. Review of applications will begin April 15, 2025.
careers.msu.edu/jobs/assista...
Naming a beaver Alan is a perfectly acceptable in my opinion.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Beavers return to Northamptonshire for first time in 400 years
A family of eight is released into an enclosure in Rushden.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 19, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Naming a beaver Alan is a perfectly acceptable in my opinion.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The impact of reintroduced Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) dams on the upstream movement of brown trout (Salmo trutta) in upland areas of Great Britain
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
The impact of reintroduced Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) dams on the upstream movement of brown trout (Salmo trutta) in upland areas of Great Britain
The return of Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) to large areas of Europe represents a conservation success with the current population estimated to be around 1.2 million individuals. Their reintroduction...
journals.plos.org
February 17, 2025 at 9:23 AM
The impact of reintroduced Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) dams on the upstream movement of brown trout (Salmo trutta) in upland areas of Great Britain
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
A legacy of lockdown has been an increasing number of online, free talks by research projects and organisations. These are so great to keep science open and inspiring. To the many folks who do this (RGS, Merlin, NERC), thank you!
February 13, 2025 at 12:57 PM
A legacy of lockdown has been an increasing number of online, free talks by research projects and organisations. These are so great to keep science open and inspiring. To the many folks who do this (RGS, Merlin, NERC), thank you!
Global Report Calls for Wetland Restoration Through Rewilding sdg.iisd.org/news/global-...
Global Report Calls for Wetland Restoration Through Rewilding
A report by the Global Rewilding Alliance and partners reveals that the decline of key animal species disrupts wetlands’ ecological balance and ecosystem services they provide, including carbon seques...
sdg.iisd.org
February 12, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Global Report Calls for Wetland Restoration Through Rewilding sdg.iisd.org/news/global-...
A pleasure to be involved in this paper, which turned out to be quite a tricky analysis!
Same data, different analysts: variation in effect sizes due to analytical decisions in ecology and evolutionary biology
bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Same data, different analysts: variation in effect sizes due to analytical decisions in ecology and evolutionary biology
bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Same data, different analysts: variation in effect sizes due to analytical decisions in ecology and evolutionary biology - BMC Biology
Although variation in effect sizes and predicted values among studies of similar phenomena is inevitable, such variation far exceeds what might be produced by sampling error alone. One possible explan...
bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com
February 6, 2025 at 5:20 PM
A pleasure to be involved in this paper, which turned out to be quite a tricky analysis!
Same data, different analysts: variation in effect sizes due to analytical decisions in ecology and evolutionary biology
bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Same data, different analysts: variation in effect sizes due to analytical decisions in ecology and evolutionary biology
bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Some excellent examples of the role that animals play in making our wetlands functional and dynamic. Including beavers obviously!
How we and our wetlands rely on wild animals – a report to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
globalrewilding.earth/how-we-and-o...
How we and our wetlands rely on wild animals – a report to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
globalrewilding.earth/how-we-and-o...
The Global Rewilding Alliance
A global network of organisations, with a vision of a world where restored wild lands & seas provide a secure future for people, nature & the planet.
globalrewilding.earth
February 3, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Some excellent examples of the role that animals play in making our wetlands functional and dynamic. Including beavers obviously!
How we and our wetlands rely on wild animals – a report to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
globalrewilding.earth/how-we-and-o...
How we and our wetlands rely on wild animals – a report to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
globalrewilding.earth/how-we-and-o...